Despite the dearth of snow, Granite Peak Ski Area's lift ticket sales were right on par with last winter's season, Baumann said. The mountain, which has the capability to create its own snow, sold just under 100,000 lift tickets through its ticket windows since the slopes opened in mid-November and closed this past Sunday.

Season pass sales were also up this year, with more than 3,500 sold from September through December, Baumann said.

And Granite Peak was not the only institution that experienced a strong term thanks to a steady flow of skiers and snowboarders. Other area businesses could feel the effects of this year's ski season flurry —er, trickle— down to them.

"This past ski and snowboard season was probably one of the largest ever in terms of traffic," said Theresa Shepherd, co-owner of Shepherd & Schaller Sporting Goods, a downtown sporting store in Wausau which rents out skiing and snowboarding equipment.

Specifically, Shepherd said she's noticed an increase in patrons, visiting from outside the region, who are renting skis or snowboards to speed down Rib Mountain.

"Each of the last probably five to seven years, concurrent with the expansion happening at Granite Peak, we've seen a significant number of out-of-town rental customers," Shepherd said. Since 2000, Granite Peak has expanded considerably and added 60 runs to its ski area for a total of 74 runs. In December, Granite Peak announced that it would expand again and add more than a dozen new ski runs to its grounds

This year, the sporting good store has seen skiers and snowboarders from New York, Oklahoma Florida and Texas come to Shepherd & Schaller's for equipment.

"They're coming from farther and father away, and with larger and larger groups," Shepherd said.

Jon Kurth, owner of Central Board Shop, which sells winter gear and snowboard equipment, said that sales through this winter were "phenomenal" —especially in the winter jacket department.

However, despite a strong couple months of winter sales, conditions at the end of the season could have been better, Kurth said, noting that the sudden warm temperatures and rain in March and April essentially eliminated his store's spring sale.

And, more flurries, in general, would have been nice, Kurth added.

"It's always going to be better if we have natural snow," he said.

Doug Stafford, the front desk concierge at Rib Mountain Inn, located in close proximity to Rib Mountain, said the hotel was solidly booked on the weekend with skiers or snowboarders.

"We were pretty busy all winter long," Stafford said.

However, like Kurth, Stafford conceded that, when it comes to natural snow, "the more, the better." Although Granite Peak can generate its own flakes, it helps when people can see snow blanketed across their front lawns, he said.

"If people don't see a good amount of snow in their yards, they're not really thinking (that it there's) good skiing conditions," Stafford said.

As far as Stafford's concerned, a blizzard can be a positive —and prosperous— event when it comes to businesses connected to the winter sports industry

"Anytime that a big snow storm is plastered all over the news... our phones just go off the hook," he said.

Melanie Lawder can be reached mlawder@gannett.com or 715-842-2101. Find her on Twitter as @mel_lawder.